Reflections: Easter brings warm memories of past customs

Photo of Long's three sisters and her on Easter Sunday morning wearing skirts made from feed sacks by their mother in 1943.

This is Holy Week for many people around the world with Easter Sunday being observed on March 27. The solemnity of Maundy Thursday and Good Friday is climaxed with the glory of Easter Sunday.

Growing up I remember going to those services but we also enjoyed the secular part of the holiday. We found colored Easter eggs on Easter morning hidden by the Easter Bunny and those jelly beans and chocolate cream filled bunnies, etc. brought excitement to my sisters and I before we attended those services with our parents. However, I recall my delight in the Easter bunny turned to fright one night when I was about seven years old and I awoke to see the shadow of that big bunny standing by my bed and I let out a shriek that brought my parents to my bedside. They found nothing but did persuade me it was a bad dream – one I have never forgotten!

I remember Easter egg hunts held in the Cardington Park and at other sites in my adult years. I know one family who continues the tradition of all coming together to dye and decorate hundreds of eggs- a wonderful family affair.

It was also the time for a new dress and hat. Growing up in the late 1930’s and 1940’s, there were some difficult financial times but our mother, a genius with the pedal sewing machine, made sure each of my three sisters and I were attractively garbed, especially at Easter. She made matching skirts for us one year from feed sacks.

Yes, my father bought his livestock feed from the local mill and it came in colorful sacks which my mother turned into those skirts we wore to church and Sunday School on Easter morning.

During my adult years hats were always a part of the Easter outfit until the hairdo styles made them almost extinct. I still like hats with veils like those worn by women in the 1930’s.

Easter will always be the most beautiful time of the year for millions around the world because it brings a promise of hope and joy. It is also the spring equinox, heralding the beginning of a new season. I wish you each a blessed Easter and a happy spring.

Photo of Long’s three sisters and her on Easter Sunday morning wearing skirts made from feed sacks by their mother in 1943.

http://aimmedianetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/29/2016/03/web1_Fricke-sisters-001.jpgPhoto of Long’s three sisters and her on Easter Sunday morning wearing skirts made from feed sacks by their mother in 1943.